Eric Canha-Imagn Images
Jun 10, 2026; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel holds a press conference before minicamp at Gillette Stadium.
It’s no secret that New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has had a difficult offseason.
After leading the Pats to the Super Bowl in his first season at the helm, Vrabel’s world nearly came crashing down when he was caught in a cheating scandal with Dianna Russini, who was formerly a reporter for The Athletic.
While Russini lost her job, Vrabel has seemingly faced little in the way of actual consequence. He’s still the head coach of the Patriots, and he and his wife are still together. In fact, he’s parading around New England’s football facility as if nothing happened.
That includes a recent press conference where Vrabel showed up to his latest press conference with a German Shepherd puppy named BB in tow.
A puppy at the podium 🥰😭🐶 pic.twitter.com/yAE0saeVlV
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) July 24, 2026
However, many fans saw right through the ploy, calling it out for what it was.
Mike Vrabel Used An Innocent Puppy To Shelter Himself From Tough Questions!
While the new NFL season is just six weeks away, Vrabel is still likely to face several questions about his infidelity and how it affects his status with the Patriots organization.
However, when you show up to press conferences with a puppy, suddenly reporters become a little less hostile.
“PR team working overtime here for Vrabel,” one writer posted on X. “Pressers with puppies is the easiest way to: – disarm the tension in the room (which helps the speaker,in this case, Vrabel) – Softens the person’s image to the press (he can’t be that bad with a puppy right? – the thought)
“The biggest problem (and why it doesn’t work) is in Vrabel’s case, we all see through it. Which then devalues the whole reason of having the puppy with you in the first place. Probably would’ve been better off just not doing the presser at all, if I were to guess.”
That was a common take among both members of the media and fans when they saw Vrabel’s apparent stunt.
please tell me we’re not going to have an nfl coach herbstreiting a dog around all season because he’s in pr trouble, we have to start being adults about this https://t.co/HUi4T21bkG
— Matt Stahl (@mattstahl97) July 25, 2026
Patriots PR staff working overtime i see.
Meet their new puppy, Dianna. https://t.co/tSQmyMwnYB
— Thomas R. Petersen (@thomasrp93) July 24, 2026
Even Herbstreit is impressed at this level of PR https://t.co/a2ViKbESNn
— Carter Donnick (@CDonnick1) July 25, 2026
Ultimately, as long as Vrabel continues to win football games, nothing else will matter. But it’s clear he and the Patriots are working overtime to restore his image.